Disclosure: The author is an employee of DC Brau Brewing Company
DC Brau Brewing Co., the first production brewery to open in DC since 1956, is closing its tasting room after growler hours on Saturday, May 17. Only for a short spell though.
The reason for the temporary close is the expansion of the brewery's cellar. The company is adding six new 60 barrel tanks. As CEO and co-founder Brandon Skall has said, with a growing company comes growing pains. The closing of the tasting room and growler hours was a matter of safety. “During the construction, we feel it’s safer to reduce walk-in traffic at the brewery, so we have decided to close the tasting room to the public until after it’s complete.”
Safety and size have become front and center in many mid-size breweries, co-founder and Head Brewer Jeff Hancock said "we are happy at DC Brau to be expanding our production capabilities and hope to break the 10,000 bbl mark this year with our added capacity." With DC Brau now distributed in five states as well as the District, it should come as no surprise that Brau has upped their capacity. Skall said that the new tanks will be used both for the production of flagship ales and to continue the brewery's reputation for unique and innovative one-offs. The increased capacity will also allow Brau to keep district accounts sated as well as newly opened northern markets.
Many folks were there, and even more can remember, the first pints of Public pale ale poured at Meridian Pint on April 15, 2011. The 15 kegs that were ordered for that Friday were supposed to last the weekend. They were all emptied that night. In a way, this was an omen for Brau, and it is still the going rate at which the mid-sized brewery is clipping along. Overall the demand is a good problem to have and is in many ways driving the expansion.
Sponsorship
